Tony Whitmore wrote:
> Has anyone on the list taken, or have other experience of, PRINCE2[1] courses
> and examinations? I'm interested in project management courses and the
> qualification is particularly relevant to public sector. I'm not sure whether
> getting funding for a course is likely, so recommendations for study guides
> and how feasible it is to self-study for such a qualification would also be
> welcome.
I'm PRINCE2 certified to practitioner level, it's a must for a lot of
public sector work, and also a requirement for many blue-chips if you
want to work as a PM. It's feasible to self-study for the foundation
exam, which is pretty much a doddle - just a bunch of multiple choice
questions, but I really woulnd't advise doing so for the Practitioner
exam. It's 3 hours of solid writing (no typing, note) which tends to
kill your wrist if you've been out of academia for a while, and it's
non-trivial despite what some people may say. You are given realistic
scenarios and have to apply PRINCE2 techniques, methods and tools to
them, and demonstrate that you fully understand the concepts and how to
manage a project using the methodology.
Does it actually help in real life? Yes IMHO, it's a good grounding for
anyone who needs to run anything more than trivial projects. I'd been
managing projects for Blue chips for some years before taking the
course, and can honestly say it made my life easier, especially so the
bigger the company because it gives you a set of standards to work from.
How it compares to PMI I cannot say though, not having used that.
I can however recommend Core IS for training - they were set up by 2
guys who became the UK's first PRINCE2 consultants (the black belt of
PRINCE2), and they have an excellent track record of student passes.
http://www.coreis.co.uk. I may be able to negotiate LUG members a
discount if there's any interest. Their standard rate is about £1500 for
a weeks course IIRC.
Cheers,
Jack
>
> Thanks,
>
> Tony
>
> [1] http://www.prince2.org.uk
>
--
Jack Knight
Chief Technical Officer
Open Source Migrations Limited
w:
http://www.osml.eu
e: jack.knight@???
p: +44(0) 8703 301044
